


We Were All Villains in the Beginning

by honeyharperofficial284



Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Other, Switching things up, Upgrades people upgrades, but also trauma, main characters getting to have their moms back can i get a hell yeah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27607373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeyharperofficial284/pseuds/honeyharperofficial284
Summary: Ummmmm so my friend @healing-wintson-pratt on tumblr came up with the brilliant idea of what if the Renegades were the villains from the start and the Anarchists, now called the Resistance, were the heroes and vigilantes. Basically when Nova was little the Renegades took over Gatlon and the Age of Anarchy never happened bc the Council overthrew the government and replaced it. Again, they're the villains in this au so all prodigies have to become part of it and it's uhhhh not a good government. David and Alec saw the signs early and tried to stop it while things were ahead but once Nova gets older, growing up in the Resistance, it's her turn to take over the mission they started by going in as a spy to try and steal back the helmet so Alec can use it to stop everything once and for all like him and David had tried to do originally.
Relationships: Danna Bell | Monarch/Narcissa Cronin, Nodrian - Relationship, Nova Artino | Nightmare/Adrian Everhart | Sketch, Oscar Silva | Smokescreen/Ruby Tucker | Red Assassin, danissa, osby - Relationship, tuckva - Relationship
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> oh boy angst time.

Nova took one of her toy cars and ran it up the side of her dollhouse. She had seen it happen in the old spy movies she had found her parents watching the other night and while she had never seen a car drive up the side of a building in person, there was no reason that her six, and nearly seven, year-old mind would doubt it to be real. 

The tooth fairy was real and Nova hadn't seen that before. Why would a super cool car be any different?

In the other room Nova could hear her dad, David, trying to hush Evie, Nova's infant sister. She had a small fever and while Nova was more then happy to put her to sleep to give her some rest, her parents insisted against it, telling her that she didn't need to be taking care of the baby because it was their job and not her's. It was why Nova's mom, Tala, was at the store that night at the moment, going to get more medicine because that was part of taking care of Evie.

Nova was anticipating her mother's return home. When she got back she and David had promised Nova that once Evie was put to bed, they'd come play cars with her in her bedroom before it was her turn to go to bed. Her dad had even promised to make her a new car using his powers as she watched many times as he would pull metal beads out of thin air like they were shining stars before he molded them into whatever he wished.

Of course they'd have to be quiet as not to wake Evie but Nova didn't care. Lately her parents seemed so stressed and upset and Nova couldn't understand why. They were adults. They were her parents. They could solve any problem that Nova had so why would they have any problems of their own?

Nova heard the door open and she scrambled out of her bedroom and through the living space to the hall but as she reached the door that was right by the entrance of the small apartment, she realized that the person who had entered the apartment was not her mother at all.

It was Captain Chromium, the head of the Renegades.

Nova never really understood what was going on but she knew that the Renegades were in charge and had been for the past few months. She also knew that her parents and her uncle Alec didn't like it one bit but that didn't seem like good enough reason for Captain Chromium to be in their household. Plenty of people didn't like him and Nova never heard stories of him breaking into their households.

The Captain's presence was intimidating. Her gut twisted at the sight of him and he gave her a bad feeling, especially at the way David held Evie closer and looked scared of him.

"Where's the helmet?" The Captain growled, making Nova squeak in fear, tears already welling up in her eyes. 

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw her and while he didn't pay her much attention, Nova couldn't help but cower back into the shadows and behind the door.

"There is no helmet," David said.

"Liar," Captain Chromium snarled before lifting up a gun and knocking the door open.

"Nova!" David gasped. "Ru-"

He was cut off by two gunshots.

"PAPA!" Nova screamed, tears streaming down her face.

One bullet entered Evie's little body and the other to her dad's chest. Blood splattered out, arching across the room and hitting the walls and Nova's face and pajamas. It began to pour from the bodies, soaking into Nova's white soaks as it did so while she stood there stunned and paralyzed from fear.

Her dad and baby sister had just been shot in front of her and Captain Chromium didn't seem to have a care in the world.

The man's attention turned to her and Nova didn't dare disobey her father's orders any longer before she sprinted through the small apartment, scrambling to her room. Her room was safe. It was her space. Her mom and dad said so and they promised her that she was in charge of the room and no one she didn't want could come in there.

Her room would keep her safe like her parents had promised.

Nova grabbed her Dolly Bear and went into the closet, shutting the door. She curled up and did the best to stifle her cries as she hid behind a pile of her clothes and toys.

She could hear the Captain walking through the apartment, looking for something. It had to have been the helmet he asked her father about but Nova couldn't recall her father ever making a helmet.

David would always make his creations in front of her since it always lured her to sleep but she never remembered him making more then jewelry for people. In fact the last thing he was making was a bracelet that was left on the table in the other room.

The door of her room opened and Nova's breath hitched. She was terrified of what he would do to her and Nova hoped that her mom wouldn't walk through the door right then and there because what if the Captain killed her too?

Then the closet door opened. Nova froze and held her breath. The Captain noticed her right away as he pushed things around and rummaged through the closet yet he paid her no attention. 

His face was blank and he didn't seem to care about her at all. He didn't seem to care that he had just killed two people, one of which was a baby, in front of a 6 year old child. 

Captain Chromium didn't seem to find what he was looking for and instead shut the closet door and moved on to the next room.

The whole time Nova stayed put in the closet, the darkness of it swarming her and the coats and toys felt suffocating. Her breathing grew heavy and she couldn't think of anything but the gunshots.

Nova's stomach churned and bubbles of air floated up her throat until suddenly she was throwing up on a bin of dolls in the closet.

Her throat burned and her body ached as her stomach emptied onto the toys. She cried even harder.

She wanted the Captain to leave. She wanted her dad to get up and come hold her and tell her it was alright. She wanted her mom to walk through the door and make everything okay again.

As she finished throwing up, she could hear Captain Chromium leave.

Carefully, Nova pushed open the closet door, dropping her stuffed bear on the floor as she crept back into the hallway, wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

On the floor in the hallways was her dad and Evie, lying in a pool of their own blood. Footprints that belonged to the Captain surrounded him and lead out the door and Nova's own trailed through the living room.

Nova knelt at David's side.

"Papa?" She whispered, voice cracking as she cried. "Papa get up!"

David groaned and Nova's heart soared. Maybe her dad would make it.

"PAPA!" Nova exclaimed, tears streaming down her cheeks from her puffy eyes.

"Oh sweetie," he croaked, coughing up blood. "Go get the bracelet on the table."

David pointed past her to the little round table in the living space. On it was a shimmering golden bracelet that her dad had made just the other night, Nova watching in delight as he pulled the beads from the air until she fell asleep in his lap.

Nova nodded and scrambled to get the bracelet, holding it out to him.

"Put it on and keep it on you. Don't you ever take it off do you understand me?"

"Papa you're scaring me," Nova said as she put it over her wrist and sat back beside him, the blood being absorbed by her purple and green pajama set.

"I'm sorry baby," David apologized, holding her hand tightly and pressing a kiss to it. 

"You and Evie will be okay. Right Papa?"

"I promise it's going to be alright Nova," David coughed before his head reclined into the floor and his body sagged. His breathing stopped and his body stilled completely.

"PAPA!" She bawled. "PAPA! PAPA! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP PAPA!"

Nova shook him, hoping his eyes would open and Evie would start crying again and her dad would bundle her up in her arms and give her a kiss on the head and make everything better like he always did. 

"You have to wake up!" Nova wailed. "You promised it was going to be alright! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP PAPA!"

But nothing changed as blood began to coat Nova's hands and clothes and body and then her face as she moved her messy hair out of the way and wiped tears off her face, bloody handprints smearing across her nose and cheek.

"Please," Nova begged. "Please get up Papa!"

Nova's body shuddered with sobs as she wept, wanting nothing more but for for her dad and sister to be alive again. Wanting nothing more then for someone to come and save her.

The door opened and someone gasped.

Nova jumped and whirled around, scrambling back.

A bag of groceries fell to the ground, some fruit and fever medicine rolling to Nova's feet.

"No!" Tala gasped as she knelt to the floor, already crying. "David? Evie?" Her mom cried out. "NO!"

She pressed her fingers to David's neck and held her other hand to her mouth to stifle her sobs.

She then turned to Nova, pulling her into her arms.

"Oh my Nova. Oh my little baby," Tala cried, pressing kisses all over her face and holding her close.

Both of them curled up against one another and cried in the entry way though it was quickly overrun by the howling of a baby.

Nova and Tala shot towards Evie, who's body was starting to stir. Her chubby arms flailed and her legs kicked out as she squirmed under the hold of David's limp arm.

Tala pulled her out and cradled both Nova and Evie in her arms and lap. 

In Evie's hand, was the silver bullet that shot her and aside from being drenched in blood she seemed to be perfectly fine.

A new sense of determination and fear fell over Tala's face.

"Nova," she said. "Go collect some of your things in a bag. Get your clothes, your brush, your bear, your tooth brush and toothpaste, and anything you would pack if we went on vacation. Can you go do that for me?"

Nova stood and nodded, wiping her face.

"Mommy are we going to be okay?" Nova asked.

"Things won't be the same," Tala admitted. "But I promise that I will make things right."

She knelt down and pressed a kiss to Nova's head and wiped off her face with her shirt sleeve before sending Nova on her way.

She was still very young, but Nova understood that something big was coming her way and she wasn't going to get a choice about it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova is assigned the mission she's been waiting her whole life for.

One more round Nova promised herself. Just one more. 

She swung at the training dummy with her leg, the side of her foot crashing into the rubber head hard. The head jolted to the side, leaning over to touch the shoulder before it snapped back after Nova's foot had passed by completely.

Nova looked at the board which buzzed as her foot receded, signaling the end of the training round.

5000 newtons of force was on the board. It was a new high score and people in the training arena clapped politely.

"You did great kid," Ingrid said, giving Nova a high five while she wiped sweat off her brow and drank from her water bottle. "You keep getting better each time. I think you're about ready to be sent on your first mission."

"Really!" Nova exclaimed, her brown eyes lighting up. More then anything, Nova wanted to be sent on a mission for the Resistance so she could help take down the Renegades.

10 years ago, when Nova was nearly 7, a group of six prodigies called the Renegades took over the city of Gatlon. The previous government was oppressive of prodigies and needed to be replaced, but the Renegades only made problems worse and forced everyone into more tension. 

Thanks to them, all prodigies, people with superhuman abilities, were forced to become Renegades if they somehow didn't manage to find a way to flee to a place where the Renegades hadn't taken hold. Cruel and brutal, the Renegades changed everything to the worse, both for those with powers and those without.

Tensions between the two groups only worsened and many, like Nova's family, had fled underground with the Resistance for shelter. Nova's family, her uncle Alec specifically, had been the ones to start the Resistance as immediately, they had gone too far.

Nova's dad, David Artino, had been a prodigy and saw the signs of brutality early, using his abilities to make a helmet to amplify powers that Alec could use to wipe out the Renegades before they took root. But the leader of the Renegades, Captain Chromium, or Hugh Everhart, had found out and killed David for it in front of Nova, taking the helmet and using it to supposedly then kill Alec and force the Resistance underground after they thought they had squashed it in it's start.

But that was far from the case as Alec and the Resistance was alive and thriving underground and Nova only had the most to gain by getting rid of the Renegades as she had already lost the most.

She didn't even want revenge for what happened to her father. She wanted safety for herself and others. She wanted actual justice and to end the tension as that was already happening in the Resistance where prodigies and non-prodigies alike were living in peace.

Most of all, Nova wanted to live a normal life. She wanted to see the sun and not have to flee back into the shadows. She wanted to be able to exist instead of her mother having to wipe any trace of their existence off the map after their father was killed, Nova using fake papers made by a woman named Millie to navigate the city above the one she resided in whenever she was forced to.

"I really do think you're ready for a mission and I'm sure your uncle and mom and the other heads of the Resistance will all agree," Ingrid said. "You're the most skilled person we have since you've been training so hard so long. I think of all people you're made for this stuff."

"I promise I won't let you down," Nova said, trying to keep her voice down so she didn't draw attention from the others.

"It's not official yet," Ingrid said. "So don't jump ahead. But I think you're ready and once I tell the Heads and your family this, I'm sure you'll be assigned a mission soon."

"I sure hope so," Nova said. She had been training her whole life to be assigned a mission and was the last of the people in her peer group that hadn't been assigned one if they wanted it. Narcissa already began taking up missions and Callum had progressed past the training stage so he could go work in the tech house and Kaden was already helping with teaching the younger kids in the Resistance.

"You go eat something while I talk to the Heads. Seriously kid you've been at it all day. Put something in your stomach and shower," Ingrid laughed, ruffling Nova's hair which had fallen out of its braids for the most part.

"Just one more round," Nova said.

"Fine," Ingrid agreed. "But then you have to go take care of yourself. I swear I'm about to put limits on your use of the training arena. Let other people take a turn."

Nova laughed as Ingrid left. She went to the touch screen against the wall to start up another round when a voice called out her name.

"Owl!" Someone, Maggie, yelled. Her family had always called her Owl since she didn't sleep and ironically Maggie got the bird themed nickname of Magpie since she was drawn to metal like a magnet. A power she got from the bullet that hit her in the back as a baby.

Nova looked up and saw her younger sister leaning over the railing, looking down into the training arena at her. 

"Mom says come eat!"

"One more-"

"No! You say that every time! Now. I don't want to have to wait," Maggie complained.

"Okay! Okay! Fine!" Nova said, grabbing her things as she went up the steps to greet her sister at the platform above.

Maggie looked up and down at Nova. 

"For your safety and health we're taking the elevator up to our compartment. I don't want Mom yelling at me after you pass our from exhaustion," she announced, grabbing Nova's hand and pulling her to the elevator before she could refuse.

The Resistance was entirely underground and wasn't a resistance so much as it was a town beneath the earth. It was a gigantic labyrinth beneath the ground that dug into the dirt, enforced with wood and metal and clay.

It was made up of homes, compartments they were called, of all sizes along with shops, restaurants, a schooling system, a greenhouse, a tech center, a training arena, community out reaches, and more. It truly was it's own functioning town and ran just like any other place that resided by Gatlon.

Frankly, the only reason it had an economy was because people needed a small amount of money to circulate through in case they needed to go to the city above to buy something like a specific medicine or a certain ingredient or something that wasn't a general thing that the Resistance couldn't make or grow with what they had available.

If the world were to collapse, the Resistance would be the only place on earth that would make it. They already lived in secret underground and had nearly everything they needed with growing numbers and a thriving population.

The Resistance, for the most part, was located underneath the Gatlon City Park which spanned 840 acres and they only took up a quarter of that space. It was safer to be under the park because there was no structure above that would collapse though it wasn't like immense amounts of safety measures were put in place just in case of an emergency.

Regardless, the Resistance had plenty of space to grow and since Nova had been part of it since the start ten years ago when she was 7, she single-handedly watched as it became more then just a small group of people going into hiding but instead nearly 3000 people of all ages and backgrounds coming together to form a community and safe haven for all.

The elevator whizzed up to the top platform and Nova looked down at the town beneath her, hundreds of levels filled to the brim with shops and houses and places of all skill sets.

Nova, along with the Heads of the Resistance and the earliest members of it, lived on the top tier of the bunker world. They just kept digging deeper and expanding outwards like roots as more and more people joined.

She watched happily as people sung down between the levels, taking the stairs or ladders or whatever there was to move from level to level as each floor had a hollowed out center and the buildings looked almost liked links in a chain that had been tossed in a pile, going in all directions.

Nova and Maggie reached the top floor and went into their compartment.

As soon as the door opened, Nova was hit with the smell of sinigang. Fish, rice, tamarind, and taro were just some of the few things she could pick out in the stew already and her mouth watered. It was her favorite and Nova wondered if it was some sort of special occasion that she had forgotten about.

Immediately, Nova went to grab a bowl but her mom, Tala, stopped her.

"Go shower first. Then you can eat. We wash off before supper."

"But I'm hungry."

"You're also covered in sweat. Go shower and Evelyn Margaret take off your shoes," Tala said.

Maggie, or Evelyn Margaret as that was her first and middle name, jumped and scurried to go put her shoes on the rack by the entrance. For the most part they called her Maggie, a nickname of her middle name, as that was the name Nova's father had wanted for her but instead it got turned into her middle name. Originally they had always called her Evie but after David's passing, Tala and Alec and eventually Nova and everyone else called her Maggie.

Nova went to the bathroom in between her and Maggie's rooms and turned on the shower before grabbing fresh shorts and a t-shirt as it was still decently hot and humid in the Resistance as it was summer though being underground and the AC kept the temperature a bit lower. Of course Nova was still going to be hot even after a cold shower as she had been training all day and her body temperature was probably that as someone with a bad fever.

Nova washed off as fast as she could so she could eat, hastily drying her hair and putting on fresh clothes before she raced out of the bathroom so she could eat. She was starving and went through a bowl of sinigang in seconds.

"Sweet rot you're hungry," Tala laughed. "It's a good thing I made plenty. I was hoping there would be leftovers for later but I guess not."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Nova said as she server herself a second helping. "Fish never does do well as a leftover."

"Yeah," Maggie agreed, nodding and pinching her nose while her face crinkled in disgust at the thought of day old fish in the fridge.

"Please tell me you did something besides train today," Tala asked as she began to rinse out her bowl and put it in the dishwasher.

"I did my normal chores today at home and then did my work in my centers before training for the rest of the day."

"You need to do something else."

"Hey I worked in the greenhouse, the tech center, and helped work with the younger kids in training today. That's a lot besides personal training," Nova said.

"And yet there's nothing besides training that you do for fun," Tala pointed out. "When you aren't at your dance classes or doing any work you're just training. Why not start back up with your drum set again or embroider something?"

"I embroider at night along with reading and my night rounds," Nova pointed out as she ate.

"Then practice drums again and find something else to do. I want you doing more then training and ballet for fun in the day time."

"But I have all night to do what I want."

"And how often do you do anything normal teenagers do like play video games or watch something on YouTube off your laptop?"

Nova bit her lip. Her mom had a point.

"Touche."

"Ha! Point Mom!" Tala said. "Now finish up and go down to Meeting Room 1. Your uncle and the rest of the Heads want to see you."

Nova's heart soared. The Heads wanted to see her and Ingrid said that once she told them that Nova was ready for a mission she should get one.

She was about to get her first mission.

Nova devoured the last of her food quickly and took care of her dishes before brushing her teeth and making herself look a bit neater. She was finally getting her first mission and she didn't care if it was being given to her by the very people who raised her, she was going to look as nice as she could for the event on such short notice.

Nova kissed Maggie and Tala on the cheek for goodbye and shoved on her shoes before going down to Meet Room One on the first level.

She straightened her clothes out one last time before knocking on the door.

It opened, and surrounding the table were all of the Heads; her uncle Alec, Honey Harper, Leroy Flinn, Ingrid Thompson, Winston Pratt, Malee Suwan, and Adriana Sandoya. While Malee and Adriana hadn't been part of the original Resistance members, they joined shortly after and were in charge of their own respective departments. There were other department leaders that weren't on the board but Malee and Adriana were the most prominent department leaders who joined later as they ran the biggest operations, putting them in charge.

Nova straightened her back and stepped in, trying to shove down her smile.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked.

Ingrid winked at her right away and Alec cleared his throat, the metal door shutting.

"Insomnia take a seat please," Alec said, using her alias meaning that they were talking business. Just because she was his niece didn't mean she was getting any privileges. 

Nova sat in the last empty chair, leg bouncing and her fingers tapping against her legs. 

"For a while, you've been the last person in your peer group to be assigned a mission after selecting that path despite being the most well trained," Alec, or Ace she should be calling him as it was a business matter and not a family one, said. "There is a reason for this."

"Insomnia we've been developing a more intense plan for the past few years," Ingrid, the Detonator, began. "We are planning on having someone go in as a spy into the Renegades and feed us back information as well as steal back the helmet your father made. This way we can use it to overthrow them like we had originally planned before the Captain took matters into his own hands."

Nova's lips quirked into a frown. They all knew what the Detonator meant. They all knew she was referring to how Hugh Everhart broke into the Artino family apartment and shot Maggie and David in front of Nova before taking the helmet and leaving. She would never forget it and she would never be able to properly sleep again because of it.

Nova remembered it vividly. She had been playing in her room while her mother was out to get more medicine and her dad was trying to get Maggie to stop crying from her fever when the door slammed open.

Nova heard yelling and Nova raced over to see what was happening, watching from the open door before Hugh pulled out a gun and fired. The first hit Maggie, maybe unintentionally or not, and the next hit David, sending both of them collapsing to the ground in a pool of blood.

Nova screamed and ran to the closet in her room for safety, trying not to sob so loud that Hugh would find her and kill her too. She remembered the closet door opening and Hugh just staring down at her before ignoring her and closing the closet door and leaving.

When Tala came home, Nova was over David and Maggie's bodies trying to get them to wake up. Luckily, and miraculously, Maggie had survived, gaining the ability to manipulate metal as she clutched onto the silver bullet. David was not as fortunate.

"So you want me to go in as a spy?" Nova asked.

"Yes," Honey Harper, Queen Bee, confirmed. "But we had you train much longer then others because it's such a dangerous task. We know of all people you're the one who's best fit for it. You're the best fighter we have who will for sure stay loyal and they don't know you exist at all."

"Don't you think Captain Chromium might recognize me. He's seen me before?" Nova asked.

"The Captain is as dense as a brick and more prideful then anyone. I doubt he will notice," Leroy, Cyanide, stated.

"But know that if you take up this mission, it is insanely risky and emotionally and mentally draining. You may very easily lose your life in this job if you aren't careful," Ariana, Equation, added.

"So it's your choice if you take this up or not," Winston, the Puppeteer said.

"Do my mom and sister already know about this as well as the details of the job?" Nova asked. She didn't want to come home and tell her family that she might be going on a suicide mission.

"Yes they are aware," Ace said. "I talked to your mom about it and told your sister. They are on board with it. As long as you're 100 percent sure you want this mission then it's yours."

"So do you want the mission?" Malee, the Architect, asked. 

"Can I have more details if possible with how we're supposed to make me become a Renegade?" Nova asked.

"We'd stage a moment where you would use your power to knock others out in front of a Renegade so they pull you into their system," Cyanide told her.

Nova bit her lip. She knew how to use her powers but she hardly bothered to use them. She hadn't used them since she was little unless it was an emergency. The only power she had used was her ability to not sleep since she had little choice against it.

"Yes," Nova agreed anyways. "Yes I do."

She didn't care how risky it was. She wanted the Renegades to fall after all they had done and she wanted everyone to finally have back freedom.

"Then congratulations on your first mission Insomnia," the Detonator said, grinning.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova goes and tells her friends about her first mission.

As soon as the Heads released her, Nova sent a message to her mom that she was going to see her friends at the bottom floor, taking the elevator down. Tala and Maggie clearly already knew, but that didn't mean that Narcissa, Callum, and Kaden didn't.

The three of them all recently started sharing a compartment, all of them having lost their family ages ago in the turmoil caused by the Renegades. As a result they had all been raised in the Resistance since they were little and all three of them decided to share a compartment once they were old enough to live on their own without some guidance.

Narcissa did have one living family member, her maternal grandfather who lived in Gatlon working at the library. He was a man that went by the name of Gene Cronin, or the Librarian, and supplied the Resistance with information but had Narcissa raised below for her own safety, not wanting the Renegades to ever force her into work for them. Of course, she still went up and visted which was how Narcissa met her girlfriend at the time, a Renegade named Danna Bell, before she of course finally got her first mission and decided to vanish with no trace for everyone's safety.

Nova opened the door of the compartment, knowing she was always allowed in like they were always allowed in her family's compartment. As she took off her shoes she could see Callum in the kitchen with Narcissa and the sound of a shower running in another room which must have been Kaden.

"Hey guys," she said cheerfully.

"Oh Nova you should have told us you were going to join for dinner," Callum said. "We would have made more."

"Well she can just have Kaden's serving if he DOESN'T HURRY UP!" Narcissa yelled his way.

The shower turned off. "I'm drying off Narcissa!"

"I already ate. Don't worry about me. I just thought I would stop by," Nova laughed. "I've got good news."

"Which is?" Callum asked.

"I'll wait until Kaden is out of the shower and you've all eaten before I tell you," Nova said, practically bouncing on her toes. She was exhilarated with the news and couldn't wait to spill it out but knew better to cause commotion until Kaden was out with them. It would only confuse him and make him on defense.

Both Narcissa and Callum gave her a strange look but carried on with their dinner, Narcissa plating up food and setting it aside while Callum began to unload the dishwasher.

As they all sat down at the small table, Nova helping bring the plates and drinks and silverware over, Kaden came out of the shower and took his seat with them.

"So what's going on?" He asked before taking a bite.

"After dinner. I promise it's worth the wait," Nova said, but her voice was so high-pitched from excitement that it threw them all off balance. It was completely unlike her and they must have already been connecting the dots to figure out what had happened yet all chose to keep their mouths shut and eat as not to spoil Nova's fun.

She pushed through the meal and their banter, doing her best to keep it in, before finally she could say something.

"I got my first mission!" Nova blurted. "I'd tell you what but I don't know if I can disclose details. If not I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."

They all clapped and cheered. Narcissa ran over and gave her a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you! That's amazing!" Narcissa squealed, pressing a kiss to the top of Nova's head.

"We should celebrate!" Callum said excitedly. "I'll get the juice boxes."

"I have an even better idea," Kaden said as he turned music on, then grabbing Nova's hands and pulling her from her chair. "Come on we're all dancing."

"I can't dance!" Nova said.

"You've been taking dance classes for years what do you mean?" Kaden asked, confused.

"Yeah ballet which is very different from this," Nova said, making a broad hand gesture. Kaden had put on Misery Business from Paramore which Nova wasn't complaining about but she didn't know how to dance outside anything but ballet .

"Too late!" Kaden said as he twirled her under his arm. 

Nova yelped and laughed and Narcissa and Callum shrugged haplessly before joining in themselves, Callum passing out little cartons of apple juice as they did so.

"Woohooo!" Callum cheered. "We got music, we've got juice, and Nova finally found her department and has her very first mission!"

Nova giggled as Kaden passed her off to Callum and took Narcissa into his arms, spinning her so fast that Narcissa looked dizzy, her long, brown red hair whipping around them.

"Oh my stars this might mean that Nova and I will get to do missions together!" Narcissa said excitedly once she regained her balance, clapping her hands. "Oh it'll be so much fun! We make a great team!"

"It'll be great!" Nova agreed, though if her mission succeeded there would be no need for them to ever have to do missions ever again, let alone live underground. If anything, Nova was most excited about living above; being able to see the sky, smell all the flowers, roam the city streets. It was a dream come true.

"So aside from this, how was everyone else's day?" Nova asked, taking a sip of her juice box and sitting on the table cross-legged.

"I've been helping out where I can because of my ankle," Narcissa said, gesturing to the brace on her right ankle. She had injured it in a mission and was not allowed to go on any more until recovered. "So today I went to the clothing department and helped make some shorts and tank tops since summer is coming up and we all know how hot things can be down here."

Earth and dirt was usually cool, but when you were in a giant metal box that went deep beneath the ground and had a lot of pressure on it, things tended to get hot. Even in the winter, it was still pretty warm in the Resistance but the summer was the worst with skin melting temperatures all the time that the air conditioning system could barely keep up with half the time though it was an issue they were trying very hard to fix.

"Oh good because I'm in the greenhouse and we all know how bad that's going to be," Callum said, all of them shivering. It was boiling hot in the greenhouse in the summer. "But all the spring fruits are finishing up and the summer ones are starting to come in bloom. We'll have plenty of cherries."

"Yes!" Kaden cheered. "As we all know cherries are the greatest fruit to ever exist."

"Can't say I could ever disagree," Narcissa said. "They are the perfect fruit. Aside from me of course."

She took a sip of her juice box and flipped her hair over her shoulder with a small flourish of her hand.

Nova burst out laughing.

"I thought we were all perfect fruit," Nova howled.

"Yeah but me especially," Narcissa said, winking. Nova winked back.

"Enough flirting you two," Callum snorted.

"Yeah it's gross," Kaden said, sticking his tongue out.

"Kaden, Callum, you two are literally dating and have kissed in front of us all the time," Narcissa deadpanned.

"I don't see the downside of that," Callum said.

"You never see the downside of anything," she said. "That's sort of your power Wonder Boy."

"Anyways," Nova began, steering the conversation back on track. "Kaden what about you? How was your day?"

"Pretty good. My students are doing pretty well though I think I'm going to have to send one of them to an independent teacher. They could use the extra assistance."

Kaden, despite having finished his schooling not even a year ago, was already working with the first graders in the education department. He was an excellent teacher and great with kids so it wasn't like anyone was complaining. In fact, it was impressive if anything. He had far more patience then Nova ever could though she tried her hardest. 

"So when do you start your mission?" Narcissa asked.

"Like a week. They have a specific date for me to start," Nova said, being as vague as possible.

She would start that upcoming Saturday, at the annual Renegades Parade celebrating their take over of Gatlon. Surprisingly, a lot of people loved it as most people who didn't had already done everything they could to get out of Gatlon in some way or another. Nova almost felt bad for them and their blind trust towards the Renegades and their villainous ways.

But the day of the parade, Nova was supposed to accidentally show her powers of knocking people out, the Resistance already having Winston up for the spot since he had offered himself up. Of course Malee was going to be watching from afar to make sure everything went according to plan and to get Winston out of trouble.

With the Renegades, once they knew you were a prodigy, you were forced to be one of them. Nova never understood why they thought that would be a good idea since it made it so easy for an internal uprising or revolt to happen, but of course she also figured that all members were heavily watched over.

"Then I guess this is our last week seeing you so often," Narcissa said. "Hopefully we will run into one another or later get assigned the same mission but you never know."

"Yeah well things are only looking up," Nova said, grinning. A happy future felt like it was just in reach and she couldn't wait until she and everyone she knew got it too.

**Author's Note:**

> Please give me feedback I'm begging.


End file.
